Chinese Archaeologists Successfully Describe The Face Of Humans In The Neolithic Era Thanks To Technology

Reconstruction of faces of two ancient men (photo: dock. Xinhua)

JAKARTA A Archaeologist from China managed to rearrange the face of a man born in the Neolithic Age using 3D modeling. Two faces were reconstructed after being found near the Yellow River.

The first man is believed to be 40 years old and lived about 5,600 years ago during Yangsao culture. Meanwhile, other men are believed to be around 50 years old and lived about 4,000 years ago in a different period, namely Longshan culture.

The preparation of the faces of the two men was successfully carried out after the researchers found various skulls in Yangsao Village, Henan. They have been digging for years and in the fourth excavation stage which began in August 2020, the skull began to be found.

Although excavations have been started for a long time, the facial reconstruction project only started last year with the Henan agency. Archaeologists also collaborated with various organizations to rearrange the skull they found.

"This project gives us a glimpse into the faces of our ancestors, providing real insight into various cultures in ancient society," said Li Shiwei, Deputy Director of the Department of Prehistoric Archaeological Research at the Henan Province Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archeology.

The 3D portrait that the agency produced was released on Tuesday, September 24. To create accurate 3D modeling, archaeologists are trying to collect many data points on the skull because of written records or visualizations that are not available

This is done so that the resulting 3D portrait can be more accurate. Despite the lack of knowledge about the human face at that time, Li believes that her institution has succeeded in making almost accurate facial reconstruction.

"We believe the accuracy of our reconstruction can reach around 90 percent," Li said of the discovery. Now, scientists are conducting subsequent research, namely observing DNA in skulls to reveal human history in the past.